The Good, The Bad and The Elections

This week, as always, there is a mixture of good news and bad news. I will start with the bad news. The tragic death of an Imperial alumnus is not the most pleasant thing to be reporting. It reminds me of another incident earlier this year, which was similarly upsetting to put into the paper. The fact that so much money has been raised in his memory in such a short time, and that he seems to have had so many friends at Imperial, shows that his character must have been strong. It is particularly upsetting that he died so young, and left behind a wife. I hope that his friends and family can take some comfort in the fact that he seems to have inspired a lot of people into being very generous: to raise that much money in barely any time at all is almost unbelievable. Hopefully, the field hospital will help people and so it will be for a good cause.

Some good news

There is some good news to talk about. Firstly, there is the Fleming Library re-opening after donations. There are always a few students that feel the need to essentially move into a library around this time (if they weren’t students they would probably even have to pay council tax), and they should be pleased that it’s looking pretty plush.

Imperial teams also seem to be dominating the Engineers Without Borders Challenge. I’m glad that they had the opportunity to take such a course, and hopefully more students will get to benefit from these extra courses next year. Take the opportunity to do something beyond your subject next year if you haven’t already. Trust me, you’ll really regret it if you don’t. When you’re in a job, your life becomes more rigid, and learning about new things becomes restricted to documentaries by the latest dough-eyed scientist. This actually extends to taking part in clubs and societies at the Union as well. Hobbies take time, effort and money, and, here, you have an opportunity to do something fun while not losing too much of all three.

Elections again

The Summer Elections have loomed up once again. It’s that super stressful work season, so the last thing you probably want is for someone to start waving their arms in your face telling you they’ll instantly transform your life intoblissful relaxation if you click a button. Firstly, try to be gentle to anyone distracting you to give you sweets and a voting link. Secondly, spend the few seconds it takes to vote and make a difference. All the positions matter in their own way. As with all part time positions they can be made bigger or smaller by the person filling it. This is to say that if someone truly proactive is in the role they could really change some things for the better. The fact that all Union positions aren’t elected in one burst does make people a bit bored with the whole procedure. It’s tough on everyone involved, because the previous round of voting happened before Easter when people weren’t as busy, stressed, tired of Imperial, tired of work, or all of the above. This means the Summer Elections always have a vastly reduced turnout compared to their counterparts before Easter.

There is actually a big position up for grabs: Deputy President (Education). This is the person that is in charge of your educational needs. Need to complain about a lecturer’s terrible notes? They are your first port of call. They also head up the Rep system, which is all of the Dep Reps and Year Reps who sit on the Student Staff Committees. You only have one week to vote, so make an informed decision and go for it. If you don’t like any of the candidates, click RON or abstain. Good luck to all of the candidates running!